A prominent small business lobby is calling on the next government to overhaul regulations affecting apprenticeships.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) made the call at the start of National Apprenticeship Week, which aims to convince more small businesses to take on apprentices.

Research by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) shows consumers prefer to buy from businesses employing young people on job programmes.

According to the data, one-in-four people would pay more for goods from businesses that employ apprentices, equating to around £18 billion extra in consumer spending.

In the last 12 months the government has pledged to reform funding for schemes and increase minimum wages for people on them.

Meanwhile in December business secretary Vince Cable announced the two million apprentices had been created by the government.

But the FSB said small businesses need to be convinced that apprenticeships are a good investment. I also said young people need to be sure schemes offer long-term career prospects.

The organisation has joined forces with the British Chambers of Commerce and the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) to hold a series of seminars around the UK.

The events will highlight reasons to employ apprentices and outline support available from government and NGOs.

John Allan, national chairman of the FSB, said: "High quality apprenticeships are vital to the future of British business, and are a fantastic way to enable young people to gain the skills they need to succeed.

“These seminars are an exciting way of showing off the benefits an apprentice can bring, but the next government will need to maintain the momentum for high quality apprenticeships throughout the next Parliament, and make it easier for small firms to participate."